Seeing

I've spent thousands of hours in my backyard so I genuinely didn't expect to notice anything new.  Actually, I'm not sure if I have noticed anything I have not seen before; what's different is the lens I'm seeing through.  Instead of looking to see if things are dry and need water, I'm looking to see what I can see. 

I'm sure I've seen little blue-white butterflies (a long tailed blue butterfly) before but I never saw the orange eye on their wing.   




from: The Firefly Forest: Discovering and Enjoying Nature



I wonder if the eye is about scaring off predators?   "The butterfly had little color except for orange eye shaped spots on the lower back corner of his wings.  The orange mirrored the orange of the flower."   Field-notes, 9/15

I've seen thousands of slugs but never paid attention to how quickly they can move.  I plan to find out if they are what is so quickly devouring my fallen apples.  I think it's going to take a trip outside with a flashlight to find out if the slugs are working alone or if there are other night dwellers joining in.   "...this one [fallen apple] had a relatively large slug feasting on the broken and softening flesh. The apple was sort of bubbling in its wound and the slug was bellied up to the sweet liquid." Field-notes, 9/14

I've seen those little birds (lesser finches)--about three inches from beak to tale.

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Lesser_Goldfinch/id 

I've seen the deeper yellow male and the more grey female.  I've seen them in the garden but never looked closely at what they are doing.  "They seemed to be gathering seeds out of the spent flower pods. The worked quickly and silently--holding on sideways to the swaying plant and twisting to gather their food." Field-notes, 9/13 

Field-notes 9/13

I wonder if, when these creatures see me, they see me? Or am I simply an annoyance to be avoided?  A part of the backdrop of their world?  Do they see any beauty in my existance?